Reuse Assistance Grants (RAGs) Program

California Integrated Waste Management Board’s Reuse Assistance Grants (RAGs) Program www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants

Background: • Annual and competitive program that the Board developed to establish and enhance reuse activities at the local level. • Established in 1999 when the Board secured an annual expenditure authority of $250,000 through BCP Number 5. • The FY 1999/2000 offering kick-started the RAGs program. • 31 projects have been awarded.

Eligibility Information: • Local governments that have the responsibility of achieving AB 939 are eligible. • Partnerships with nonprofits or businesses are encouraged to achieve the projects’ goals.

Definition of Reuse: • Reuse is defined as using a material over again in its current form without any significant processing that alters its materials structure. • Examples of Reuse: • Lumber as lumber, rather than milling logs into lumber. • Food as human food, rather than composting. • With the limited funding availability, the RAGs focus on reuse, rather than including recycling projects.

Current & Past Recipients: • Information about current and past RAG recipients is maintained on the Board’s Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants and includes: • Project Summaries • Award Amounts • Contact Information • Progress Reports

Web Site:

List of Grant Recipients:

Project Summaries/Contact Info.:

Grants by Jurisdiction:

Project Types:

Number of Applicants: 36 27 40 20 30 20 4 10 0 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 & 2003/2004 Number of Applicants

Funds Available Versus Funds Requested:

Project Summaries: • The numbers shown are the amounts awarded • Grantees provide a similar amount as a match

FY 1999/2000 Grantees: • City of Redding: $31,770 Expanded its existing reuse drop-off area. • San Joaquin County: $23,500 Developed an educational outreach program to encourage reuse.

FY 1999/2000 Grantees Continued… • Tehama County Sanitary Landfill Agency: $25,152 This is the only recipient that declined their grant, due to unforeseen conflicts.Funds were to be used to construct a building to expand a materials exchange. • Ventura County: $43,532 Promoted the ReStore through newspaper and phone book advertisements, and a billboard. The ReStore now diverts over 209 tons of C&D materials annually.

FY 2000/2001 Grantees: • City of Arcata: $50,000 Expanded the nonprofit Arcata Community Recycling Center’s Reusables Depot facility. • City of Lomita: $50,000 Partnered with the nonprofit Food Finders to enhance their food rescue program. From April 2001 to April 2003: • Collected 206 tons of food • Served 881,000 meals to the needy

FY 2000/2001 Grantees: Continued… • City of Los Angeles: $45,361 Expanded the nonprofit L.A. SHARES’ outreach to the business community to channel business discards to nonprofit and educational organizations. (This grant was in addition to a direct grant provided by the Board in 1999.) • Del Norte Solid Waste Mgmt. Authority: $48,352 Created construction drawings for the Resource Recovery Park's Reuse Center. Procured an energy-efficient refrigerator for a food bank.

FY 2000/2001 Grantees: Continued… • Sacramento County: $50,000 Established a Habitat for Humanity ReStore inSacramento. • University of California, Berkeley: $28,119 Created a materials exchange on campus.

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: • City of Los Angeles: $50,000 • Partnered with Kenter Canyon Charter School and L.A.U.S.D. to replace the school's small, inadequate library; • Received a donation of a 1,660 sq.ft. CaliforniaCraftsman-style house, that was built for the movie Life as a House, and slated for demolition; and Old Library

House – New Library • Disassembled and catalogued the house’s parts, andreconstructed the house on the school’s property.

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • City of Modesto: $24,059Developed, for all Modesto businesses, a quarterly newsletter to promote reuse. • City of Napa: $38,930 Reformed, expanded, and promoted NapaMax, a materials exchange.

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • City of Porterville: $23,603 Purchased tools to enhance the Porterville Developmental Center’s furniture reuse program and now reuses over 48 tons of materials annually. • City of San Jose: $50,000 Enhanced the nonprofit Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT)’s reuse activities and increased the number of teacher members utilizing RAFT's services from 4,000 to 5,650.

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • El Dorado County: $49,990 Expanded El Dorado County’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore. From April 2002 to February 2004, received: • 342 donations • 323,000 pounds of C&D materials suitable for sale

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • Kern County: $40,099 Established an e-waste reuse program for businesses to donate dated electronics to the nonprofit Merit Corp. Refurbished: • 1,050 computers • 1,500 computer monitors • 50 printers

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • Sonoma County: $36,285 • Partnered with Garbage Reincarnation, Inc., to create an educational reuse showcase and related workshop series to complement the reuse building at the Central Landfill; • Organized donated materialsand volunteers to build a rustic facade for the reuse building;

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • Constructed and staffed a 20’x30’ Reuse Education Center; • Employed used materials in all aspects of construction; • Acquired from scrap artists samples of creative projects using discarded materials; and • Conducted workshops on employing used building materials in construction.

FY 2001/2002 Grantees: Continued… • From June 2002 to March 2004: Daily Visitor Count: • Initial: 150 vehicles • One month after grand opening: 170 vehicles Sales: • Initial: $560 per week • End of grant: $770 per week

FY 2002/2003 Grantees: • City of Oakland: $50,000 Partnering with the nonprofitCommunity Woodworks to increase lumber reuse. • City of Santa Barbara: $46,105 Targeting the community with a reuse campaign. • City ofSanta Clarita: $49,490 Upgrading the Santa Clarita Valley Swap, and creating a food waste donation program.

FY 2002/2003 Grantees: Continued… • Nevada County: $4,978 (partially funded from FY 2003/2004)Designing, constructing, and promoting a C&D reuse facility. • San Luis Obispo County: $50,000 Relocating the existing Habitat for Humanity ReStore as its lease was terminated.

FY 2002/2003 Grantees: Continued… • West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority: $49,425Reusing e-waste in job training and education programs. • City of Arcata: $19,225Partnering with the nonprofit Arcata Endeavor to reclaim and redistribute edible food. • City ofLakewood: $43,615Diverting 810 tons annually of Bulky Item Collection donations to reuse facilities.

FY 2003/2004 Grantees: • Kern County: $8,382Enhancing an e-waste reuse program for businesses and residents to donate dated electronics to the thrift store network. • Marin County: $37,728Creating and advertising MarinMax, a Web-based materials exchange. • Nevada County: $45,021 (partially funded from FY 2002/2003)Designing, constructing, and promoting a C&D reuse facility.

FY 2003/2004 Grantees: Continued… • Santa Cruz County: $46,328Refurbishing and distributing e-waste, and upgrading the ProMAX materials exchange. • Ventura County: $49,700Supporting Ventura County’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

RAGs Program Results: • $1.2 million awarded by the Board. • Over $3.6 million provided by Grantees in eligible matching funds for the grant projects. • Grant projects are often part of a larger project that the Board helped achieve. • A little money from the Board goes a very long way!

RAGs Program Results: • 31 projects awarded that: • Are well-established and enduring • Divert key priority materials including e-waste, C&D, food, etc.

RAGs Program Results: • There are numerous measures of success (e.g., tons, dollars saved, jobs created, people served, children educated, etc.). • By any measure, it is clear that the RAGs funds have been well spent by the Board.

Reuse: The Heart of Waste Prevention Questions?

Reuse Assistance Grants (RAGs) Program